Thursday, May 15, 2014

For Sale: marine/RV fridge and marine/RV inverter/charger

Posted by
Sean

Regular readers looking for status updates can simply skip this post. If, on the other hand, you are in the market for a refrigerator/freezer or an inverter/charger for your boat or RV, please read on.

Fridge

This is a NovaKool RFU-8000 two-door refrigerator/freezer. It came to us with the boat, and is the same age, new in 2003. It has been working fine, and, at 6.8 cubic feet total capacity, it has been just right for us to go about two weeks between major provisioning stops. That said, it is just a tad too small for extended trips such as we are contemplating to the Bahamas and beyond, and we'd like something larger. We have room in the same cabinet for a ten cubic foot model. (Long-time readers will remember that we removed a deck-mounted refrigerator/freezer from our aft deck, to make more room there, which had served this purpose for the previous owner.)

Manufacturer's stock photo.

These NovaKool units use the high-efficiency low-voltage (12 or 24 volts) DC compressor made by Danfoss. We have one of these systems on the bus as well, and they simply can not be beat for efficient, long-term living on batteries alone. This particular unit has a built-in AC/DC converter, so that it runs from the AC system instead when on shore or generator power, thus leaving more charger capacity available to recharge the batteries.

The fridge and bottom-mounted freezer have separate doors with latching handles, reversible hinges, and an impact-resistant black finish. The unit is flange-mounted and intended for mounting in cabinetry, rather than free-standing. I have added an LED to the flange that will blink if there is any kind of problem with the compressor (such as low battery voltage). Dimensions and specifications can be found here on NovaKool's web site.

These sold for over $2,000 new (this model is discontinued, but the new, identically-sized RFU6800 is selling, discounted, around $1,400 now). I'd like to get $299 for it, but will entertain all offers. Due to the size and construction, I can not ship this, so I am selling it as "local pickup only" -- for now, that means the Miami, FL area where we are currently cruising. You are welcome to have a third-party company such as U-Ship pick it up on your behalf.

Ours, as installed.

The fridge is still in service. The logistics of living on a boat mean that I can't purchase and board the replacement until this one is sold and off the boat. Once I have cash in hand I will remove it, dock the boat someplace convenient, and off-load it. We'll live with an ice chest for a few days until we have the replacement unit aboard and I can enlarge the cabinet for it.

Inverter/charger

This is a working Heart (now Xantrex) Freedom Marine 30 inverter/charger, recently removed from service as part of an electrical system upgrade.

Boxed and ready to go.

This is a 3000-watt, 12-volt, MSW inverter with 140-amp, 12-volt (nominal) battery charger and two "Echo-charge" outputs for charging starting or other auxiliary batteries. Full specifications can be found here:

The inverter and charger are both operational, however the charging circuit occasionally quits, a well-known issue with this model which involves a sticking relay on the charge board. If I were going to keep this unit, I would replace that relay, but since I was planning an upgrade from 12 volts to 24 volts anyway, I simply tapped on the charge board to unstick the relay whenever it quit.

Included with the unit is a battery temperature sensor and instruction manual.

Used examples of this model in good condition typically sell for $800-$1000. In consideration of the sticky relay, I'd like to get $400 for it, which leaves plenty to have the relay replace professionally if need be, but again I will entertain all offers. That's FOB wherever I am, currently Miami, FL. The unit weighs 50 lbs or so, but I am happy to hand it to UPS at buyer's expense.

Remote in operation during bench test.

I also have the remote control panel, a separate accessory, for this model, asking an additional $50.

If you are interested in either of these, call, text, or email me, or leave a comment here. Our contact information is on the "Who We Are" page linked in the sidebar.

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